The installation of electrical wiring and equipment may involve installing electromechanical relays in a building or other structure. Electromechanical relays are used to switch electrical circuits between different states. For example, an electromechanical relay may include a switch in an electrical circuit that is used to switch the electrical circuit between an “ON” state in which current flows through the electrical circuit and an “OFF” state in which no current flows through the electrical circuit.
Multi-pole electromechanical relays may be used to simultaneously (or near simultaneously) change the respective states of multiple electrical circuits in an electrical system. For example, a multi-pole relay can have multiple switches that are electrically connected to different electrical circuits. The switches of the multi-pole relay may be actuated simultaneously (or near simultaneously) such that the different electrical circuits switch between states at or near the same time.
Prior solutions for providing multi-pole relays for use in a field environment present disadvantages. For example, a technician may not know the appropriate number of poles for a multi-pole relay in advance or may be tasked with modifying the electrical system to include additional electrical circuits for simultaneous actuation. In one example, a technician may mistakenly bring a two-pole relay to a job requiring a three-pole relay. In another example, modifying an electrical system that currently uses a two-pole relay such that the electrical system uses a three-pole relay may require removing an existing two-pole relay. These disadvantages associated with current multi-pole relays can increase the time and complexity involved in installing or modifying electrical systems.
It is therefore desirable to provide a configurable multi-pole relay system for installation in electrical systems.